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Detailed Topography of the Devonian Grosmont Formation Surface from Legacy High-Resolution Seismic Profiles, Northeast Alberta

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Detailed Topography of the Devonian Grosmont Formation Surface from Legacy High-Resolution Seismic Profiles, Northeast Alberta GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 79, NO. 4 (JULY-AUGUST 2014); P. B135–B149, 17 FIGS., 4 TABLES. 10.1190/GEO2013-0268.1 Case History Detailed topography of the Devonian Grosmont Formation surface from legacy high-resolution seismic profiles, northeast Alberta Elahe P. Ardakani1, Douglas R. Schmitt1, and Todd D. Bown1 ABSTRACT constructed solely on the basis of well-log data; in fact, the use of only well-log information would likely result in erroneous The Devonian Grosmont Formation in northeastern Alberta, interpretations. Although features smaller than about 40 m in Canada, is the world’s largest accumulation of heavy oil in car- radius cannot be easily discerned at the SMU due to wavefield bonate rock with estimated bitumen in place of 64.5 × 109 m3. and data sampling limits, the data did reveal the existence of a Much of the reservoir unconformably subcrops beneath roughly east–west-trending ridge-valley system. A more minor Cretaceous sediments. This is an eroded surface modified by northeast–southwest-trending linear valley also was apparent. kartstification known as the Sub-Mannville Unconformity These observations are all consistent with the model of a (SMU). We studied the reanalysis and integration of legacy seis- karsted/eroded carbonate surface. Comparison of the maps mic data sets obtained in the mid-1980s to investigate the struc- for the differing horizons further suggested that deeper horizons ture of this surface. Standard data processing was carried out may influence the structure of the SMU and even the overlying supplemented by some more modern approaches to noise reduc- Mesozoic formations. This suggested that some displacements tion. The interpretation of these reprocessed data resulted in due to karst cavity collapse or minor faulting within the some key structural maps above and below the SMU. These Grosmont occurred during or after deposition of the younger seismic maps revealed substantially more detail than those Mesozoic sediments on top of the Grosmont surface. INTRODUCTION the Grosmont reservoir. In the early to mid 1980s, the reservoir was first tested in a government/industry project supported through the The Devonian Grosmont Formation of the northeastern Alberta Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA). plains is a carbonate platform encompassing an area of 85;000 km2, This consortium acquired geophysical and well-log data and initi- of which about 20;800 km2 is prospective for bitumen (Figure 1a). ated a few pilot project tests. Much of the geologic information, Many authors have indicated that the area of the Grosmont platform primarily from well logs and cores, has already been published from is comparable to that of the modern-day Bahama Banks (Figure 1b). various sources and entered into the public record (Belyea, 1956; This may also be a reasonable geologic analog in that, even though much of the Bahama Banks is currently submerged, during recent Dembicki and Machel, 1996; Buschkuehle et al., 2007; Barrett and glacial maxima, it was dry land subject to karsting. Hopkins, 2010; Borrero and Machel, 2010; Machel, 2010; Wo et al., The Grosmont Formation is projected to hold upwards of 64.5 × 2010; Machel et al., 2012); however, the abrupt termination of the 109 m3 of bitumen according to the recently updated reserves es- research project related to the decline of heavy hydrocarbon prices timates of the Energy Resources Conservation Board (2010). In the in the late 1980s together with the general lack of now-ubiquitous past decade, there has been a great deal of interest in exploiting this computer-assisted interpretation programs did not allow for proper Downloaded 07/07/14 to 142.244.194.195. Redistribution subject SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/ resource. However, this is only the second round of investigation of integration of all of the seismic data obtained in the research. Manuscript received by the Editor 16 July 2013; revised manuscript received 22 December 2013; published online 4 June 2014; corrected version published online 12 June 2014. 1University of Alberta, Department of Physics, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]. © 2014 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved. B135 B136 Ardakani et al. The primary purpose of this contribution is to illustrate using the ability to resolve the shallow Grosmont surface, and the “high- seismic data the complexities of the eroded and karsted Grosmont spatial-resolution” sampling they finally adopted was unique for the surface; such detail cannot be achieved from the sparse sampl- time period and hints toward more modern data acquisition strate- ing available from direct borehole measurements. Secondarily, gies. The data obtained clearly illustrate the evolution of technique the contribution seeks to preserve a unique and perhaps historic over this time period as the researchers were forced to concede that geophysical data set. The 2D seismic data obtained here cannot standard practices could not work well in imaging the relatively hope to compete against modern 3D seismic imaging. However, shallow unconformity surface. The contribution begins with infor- the researchers attempted to push the limits in terms of improving mation on the current state of knowledge as to the regional and more local geologic structure. The legacy data are then presented in detail and the reprocessing and in- tegrated strategies described. Interpretation of the integrated seismic data allows for a relatively de- tailed mapping of the Grosmont surface over the study area that displays substantial topographic variations likely related to karst-driven erosion. Regional geology The gross geologic structure of Alberta, east of the disturbed belt and Rocky Mountains consists of a wedge of sediments, overlying the Archean and early Proterozoic metamorphic rocks of the Canadian Shield. The sedimentary basin is about five or more kilometers thick at its western edge, and it thins progressively northeastward. This ve- neer of sediments disappears entirely in the ex- treme northeastern corner of Alberta where the Canadian Shield is exposed. To the first order, this sediment wedge consists of two major parts. Indurated older sediments with ages ranging from the latest Proterozoic through the Paleozoic with some limited early Mesozoic sediments immedi- ately overlie the Canadian Shield. For a large part, these were marine carbonates and shale deposits Figure 1. (a) Satellite image of Alberta showing the extent of the Grosmont platform in laid down on a passive continental margin. The white. Outlines of the areas of the Grosmont and Nisku carbonate bitumen deposits in topmost wedge, in contrast, consists of Mesozoic yellow and green, respectively. The area of study is shown with the red star. (b) Satellite siliciclastic sands and shales deposited in shallow image of the Bahama Banks illustrating the size of a modern-day shallow-water carbon- ate platform. Outline of the Grosmont platform from Figure 1a superimposed in white. seas and estuarine and fluvial environments. Images from NASA (NASA, 2012). The geologic unconformity separating the pri- marily Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments is a major basinwide feature and plays an important role in this study because the bulk of the bitumen resides at and immediately beneath this interface. The cross section A-B crossing the Grosmont platform (outlined in white) from Figure 1a is shown in Figure 2, which represents the large scale geologic structure representative of the study area. The predominant lithologies within the various sedimentary layers overlying the Canadian Shield begin with the lower Devonian Elk Point Group containing significant evapo- rates and carbonates, the mid-to-Upper Devonian Beaverhill Lake Group, the Upper Devonian Woodbend-Winterburn Group, and the Upper Downloaded 07/07/14 to 142.244.194.195. Redistribution subject SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/ Devonian and Mississippian Wabamum and other formations. These are all blanketed by the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group, which Figure 2. Synoptic cross section A-B (outlined in Figure 1a with the dashed line) shows the general geologic structure around the study area (black arrow) developed from dig- is in turn covered by Upper Cretaceous and, in ital geologic formation tops, from Mossop and Shetsen (1994). some locales, Tertiary sediments (Figure 2). Detailed topography of Grosmont surface B137 Two unconformities are seen here. The first is the unconformity Foundation (Hein 2006; Buschkuehle et al., 2007; Hein et al., between the Lower Devonian Elk Point and the Pre-Cambrian meta- 2008; Wo et al., 2010) with academic contributions (Zhao, 2009; morphic Canadian Shield (PCU). This unconformity separates the Borrero and Machel, 2010). rocks in time by more than 1.5 Ga. Although this unconformity will According to Borrero and Machel (2010), the Grosmont Forma- not play a major role in this study, it is important not to forget it tion is a complex of carbonate layers divided by three shale breaks because it may hold clues as to the potential for large-scale tectonic representing Upper Devonian rapid deposition of substantial motions that could directly via faulting or indirectly via deformation amounts of carbonates and basin-filling shale. Currently, the Gros- of deeper sedimentary formations eventually influence the Upper mont Formation is further divided into four distinctive units on the Devonian formations
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